Forage-cutter



L .C. SHARP, FORAGE CUTTER.

I APPLICATION FILED DEC-26! 1918- v 4 7 1,390,548. PatentedSept. 13, 1921.

. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Elwumatox.

7 L. C. SHARP,

Patfillted Sept. 13, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ammntoz I C. SHARP QXM-m m inn 0. sHAmor rnarrs vrouirrr, iinBRAsKA, Assrenort roi trlrnvrAIsE MANUFAC- narawasn, a CORPORATION or 'IDELA- TUBING COMPANY, or WILMINGTON,

WARE. 1,390,548; 2

T 0 all whom it may concern "Be it known that 1, LEE 0. SHARP, a an zenof the UnitedStates and a resident of Plattsmouth, in the county of. Cass. and ,State of Nebraska, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Fora e- Cutters, of'which the follo wlng is a speclfication. 7

My invention relates tomachinesparticu larly adapted, for -'cutting forage materials, as in preparing v stock foods fromroarse vegetation. Broadly, it isytheobject ,of n y invention to provide'a machine for cutting materials of the class mentioned intoja meallike product wherein there 'are'no elongated shreds, straws, stalks, fibers or the like, and. wherein all of the particlesare of substan-' Particular objects of v my invention are to provideina machine of the class indicated, a feed-table which tially uniform size.

may be adjusted to ,various] inclinations without changing the therefor; and-to provide a casing orinclosure which may be readily opened to expose the cutting mechanism,- without disconnect-j ing any of the drive mechanism therefor.

lnthe, accompanyingqdrawings F gure 1 is a side viewof a machine embodylngjmy invention,'Fig. 2 is adetail side viewof the casing, showing: the hood partially raised,

Fig. 3 is alongitudinal vertical sectionfl ig.

4. is a detail horizontal section of thecutting cylind er,HFig. 5. is a rear elevation of the machine, and Fig. 6 is a detail. section of the feed-table on the line 6-6 of Flg'. 1.

V In carrying out my.- invention according to the illustrated embodiment thereof,

provide a hollowbase. or pedestal 7 which is substantially rectangular iir horizontal section, but with rounded corners,.and having the lower end slightly iflare d and provided with afoot-flange, as shown. At the rearward side of the pedestal, intermediate the upper and lower endsthereof, is a flanged discharge opening 8, at the bottom of which. is secured thedower edge of a curved guide-plate. 9, said plate extending upwardly acrossthe inside of the pedestal" and being secured to the front sidethereof.

as shown. Above the discharge openingthere is a fsight op'ening, which is normally closed by a plate or jsheet 10 of transparent materiaL' The'cutting cylinder is arranged the open upper end of the pedestal, the

cylinder-shaft 11 being journaledtin suit drive mechanism roRAes-cnrrER. v

Speeification of Letters Patent. Pat t d se'pttlg, 1921 Application filed December 26, .1918. Serial Nb. 268,510. Y

ablelbearings formed at, the upperedges' thereof. The, cylinder-is formed of a series of plates or dlsks 12 which are notched peing series,'the teeth ofadjacent plates being staggered oroifset-relatively to each other.

Atbne end the shaft .11 carries a pulley 13 WhlCll maybe connected by a-belt 14 with a suitable source of power; At the opposite end said-shaft carries a pair of set-collars 15,"between which is a loose collar 16, the

latter carrying a pair of pins 17 which form a pivotal connection with the forked upper end of, a, rocking-lever 18. Said lever is pivoted on a bracket 19 securedlon the side of the pedestal, and the lowerend of the lever carries a roller 20 which fits in the un dulatory groove of a barrel-cam 21, by rotation of which the cylinder-shaft 11 is oscillated longitudinally. .Saidcam 21 is carried on the protruding end of a" drive-shaft 22 which extends horizontally through the lower-portion of thepedestal, being journaled jin bearings form-ed integrally there.-

.with. -lhe opposite end of said shaft car ries a pulley 2'3 adapted .tobe' drivenby a belt froma suitable countershaft. Y i

On the upper portion of the pedestal, atthe rear side thereof, there is a pair of brackets24in which is journaleda shaft 25. A sprocket-wheel 26.. on said shaft is connected with and driven by a sprocket-wheel 27 on the shaft 22,- through the medium of' a chain 28. To said shaft 25 the hood 29 ,is pivotally connected, said hood extending over the, upper endiof thepedestal so as-to.

inclose the upper side and parts of the ends of the cutting cylinder, and continuing forwardly so asto similarly inclose the feedcylinder 30. Said cylinder 30 iscarried by a shaft 31 of which the ends are 'iournaled in bearings carried at the end of'rods 32, the rearward ends. of said rods being connected pivotally with the shaft 25. The.

shaftBl; passes throughjarcuate slots in the sides ofthe hood, which permit a rising and falling movement of the feed cylinder relatively, to the hood. The feed-cylinder is driven by a; chain .33 connecting sprocketwheels 34: and 3 5, mountedrespectively onji the shafts 25, and 31, as shown in Fig.- 1.

i the upper front portion of the hood 29.

'front to the rear end.

At the upper end of the pedestal, on the front side thereof, a ledge or shelf 36 is formed integrally therewith, said shelf being recessed adjoining the rear edge thereof, to receive the removable ledger-blade 37 with which the teeth of the cutting cylinder cooperate. The front side-portions of the hood 29 hook over the front edge of the shelf 36, as will appear from Fig. 2. At the ends of the shelf 36, there are pairs of depending lugs 38 in which are formed bearings for a pair of shafts 39 and 40. The rear shaft 39 is driven by means of a chain 41 connecting sprocket-wheels 42 and 43 disposed respectively on the drive-shaft 22 and said shaft 39; Apair ofgears 44 are mounted on the ends of the shafts 39 and 40, and mesh opera-' tively so that the latter shaft is driven thereby. To the shaft there is pivotally connected a feed-table comprising laterally spaced bottom members 45 connected to each other by transverse bars or slats 46, and side portions 47 which extend in vertical planes. The pivotal connection of the feed-table with the shaft 40 is made by means of bearing members 48 secured to the bottom members 45 of the table, and at the opposite or front members 49 in which a shaft 50 is journalecL.

On the shafts 40 and 50 are mounted pairs of sprocket-wheels 51 and 52 which are connecte'd by chains 53, the sprocket-wheels .being so proportioned and arranged that the upper part of the chains pass through the slots between the bottom members 45 of the table. At suitable intervals the chains are provided with prongs or fingers 54 which are inclined 'rearwardly with reference to the direction of movement'of the chains. The feed-table is supported by pairs of adjustahly connected bars 55 and 56, the ends of the upper bars 55 being pivotally connected with the intermediate cross-bar of the table, said upper bars being longitudinally slotted as shown in Fig. 3, bolts 57 passing through said slots, and the upper ends of the lower bars 56, and the lower ends of the latter being-pivotally connected with'lugs 58 at the foot of the pedestal 7 By various adjustments of said brace-bars 55 and 56, thetable horizontal position, or even to a position at which the lnclinatlon 1s downward from the Material placed upon the feed-table is carried rearwardly bythe feed-chains 53 and the fingers 54 thereon, and upon approaching the feed-cylinder 30 the material is pressed downward 'anddirected beneath said cylinder by means of'curved resilient or yieldable guide-rods 59, of which the upper ends are secured'to a cross-bar 60 carried at Upon passing beneath the feed-cylinder the cillation of the cutting cylinder.

may vary according to thevolume of mate rial being fed in a given time, the feed-cylinder rising or falling according to the thickness of the mat. By rotation of the feed-cylinder the mat is fed backover the shelf 36 and ledger-blade 37, so 'as'to be en-' aged by the teeth of the cutting cylinder.

n the sides of the hood 29, adjoining the cutting cylinder and arranged concentrically therewith, are curved guard-plates 61 which prevent any of the material being fed into the spaces at the endsof the cylinder between the end cutter-plates 12 and the sides of the hood. Owing to the use of separate driving means for the cutting cylinder, the latter may be conveniently driven at a high speed relatively to the speed of the feed mechanism, so that as each tooth of the cylinder passes theledger-bladev it will en-' cylinder, caused by the rocking-lever 18, and

being derived from the primary drive-shaft 22 of the feed mechanism, is at a rate defi nitely proportioned to therate at which the 7 material is fed. The cutting cylinder is preferably inclosed, except adjacent to the ledger-blade 37 and the feed-cylinder, by a screen62. Said screen is disposed concentri cally with the cylinder and is preferably divided into two parts which are separable in the horizontal plane of the'upper end of the pedestah'the upper portion of the screen being attached to the hood," and'the lower portlon being attached tothe pedestal.

Thus, upon raising the hood, as indicated in Fig. 2, the cutting cylinder is fully exposed and may be readily removed, as for sharpen-; ing or renewing the cutter-plates 12.

he operation of the machine will be ap- 7 parent from the foregoing. The material, being fed to the'cutting cylinderat a suitable rate, is engaged by-the multiplicity of teeth on said cylinder and immediately re! duced to small particles of a meal-like con .sistency, there being no spaces in the cylin-' der between the plates 12 into which the,

material may pass so as not to be cutas soon as it extends beyond the ledger-blade.

'The prompt disintegration of the material is further facilitated by the longitudinal os-' 1n the event that any portion of the materialfby lying exactly parallel'with the edge'of the ledger-blade, should be able to pass into the cylinder-space withoutbeing cut intosmall particles, such material will be merely carried around the cylinder, within thescreen 62, until, by again. striking the ledger-blade and being sheared by the teeth, it is reduced) to particles small enough to passthrou gh the inclosing screen. The feed-table may be readily adjusted to any desired angle or in clination, as found most convenient for facilitating the loading of the material thereon, and such adjustment of the feed-table does not interfere with the driving mechanism therefor. The feed-cylinder may automatically raise and drop according to the amount of materialpasslng thereunder, and the opening of the hood, to expose the cutting cylinder and provide access to the interlor of the machine, may also be effected without changing or interfering in any way with the drive mechanism for the several parts.

Now, having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patout is: p 1

1. In a forage cutter, a cutting cylinder, a fixed support having bearings for said cylinder and inclosing the lower portion thereof, adrive-shaft mounted on said support, a feed-cylinder, actuating means therefor connecting the same with the drive-shaft,

and a casing-member covering the upper portion of the cutting-cylinder and feedcylinder, said casing-member, the feed-cylinder and the actuating means therefor being swingable about the axis of the driveshaftto'. fully uncover and expose thecu ting-cylinder. I

2. In a forage cutter, cutting mechanism, a stationary support adjacent thereto, a drive-shaft journaled on said support, a slotted feed-table ivoted at one end on said drive-shaft, a shaft journaled on the opposite end of said table and parallel with said drive-shaft, alined pairs of sprocket-wheels mounted on said shafts, endless feed-chains connecting each pair of the sprockets and movable through the slots of thetable, and

adjustable supporting means for holding the table at the various inclinations relative to saidsupport to which itlmay be moved by swinging about said drive-shaft.

3. A structure as set forth in claim 1, in-

cluding a two-part screen disposed around v the cutting-cylinder, one part of said screen being carried upon the fixed support, and the other part being carried upon the swingable casing-member, 7

LEE o. SHARP. 

